James Watson jailed for murder of Peterborough boy Rikki Neave to appeal against conviction

James Watson was sentenced to serve a minimum of 15 years behind bars in June
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The man who was convicted of killing six-year-old Rikki Neave, nearly 30 years ago, has been given leave to appeal his sentence by Court of Appeal judges.

James Watson was finally sentenced in June 2022 for the murder he committed in November 1994, following the discovery of new DNA evidence.

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James Watson, who was 13 when Rikki died near his home in Peterborough in 1994, was jailed by a judge in June 2022, after a trial at the Old Bailey.

James Watson (right) was sentenced ‘as though a 13-year-old’ when he was handed a 15-year jail term in June 2022 (image: Cambridgeshire Police)James Watson (right) was sentenced ‘as though a 13-year-old’ when he was handed a 15-year jail term in June 2022 (image: Cambridgeshire Police)
James Watson (right) was sentenced ‘as though a 13-year-old’ when he was handed a 15-year jail term in June 2022 (image: Cambridgeshire Police)

Watson was handed a life sentence with a minimum of 15 years.

The length of sentence was determined by the fact that Watson was 13 when he lured schoolboy Rikki to woods near his home in Welland and strangled him to fulfil a “morbid fantasy” he had told his mother about three days before.

He stripped Rikki and posed his naked body in a star shape for sexual gratification, deliberately “exhibiting” him near a children’s woodland den.

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Efforts of Rikki’s three sisters to see the sentence of Watson extended were rejected by the Solicitor General last year.

Lawyers representing Watson on March 29 argued, at a Court of Appeal hearing in London, that the case was “circumstantial”.

Lord Burnett, the Lord Chief Justice, Mr Justice Goose and Mr Justice Bennathan considered Watson’s application at a hearing lasting less than an hour.

Watson was not at the hearing.

Lord Burnett told Watson’s lawyers: “We will be granting leave to appeal.”

He said lawyers representing Watson had “arguable” grounds for mounting a full appeal.